Chinese

Noun

黎元

1. (literary) commoner; ordinary person

Japanese

Etymology

From Middle Chinese compound 黎元 ‎(lej ngjwon, literally “black [in reference to black hair: i.e. bareheaded, i.e. not nobility] + head”). Compare modern Mandarin reading líyuán.

Pronunciation

• On'yomi: Kan'on
• (Tokyo) れ​いげん [réꜜègèǹ] (Atamadaka - [1])^[1]
• IPA^(key): [ɺ̠e̞ːɡ̃ẽ̞ɴ]

Noun

黎元 ‎(hiragana れいげん, romaji reigen)

1. (uncommon) a commoner, an ordinary person (in contrast to the aristocracy or nobility)

Synonyms

• 庶民 (しょみん) ‎(shomin) (most common)
• 黎民 (れいみん) ‎(reimin)
• 黎庶 (れいしょ) ‎(reisho)

References

1. ↑ 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, ISBN 4-385-13905-9

• 1988, 国語大辞典（新装版） (Kokugo Dai Jiten, Revised Edition) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan